UNC Guard Had Blunt Response to Critics After North Carolina’s Big Win vs. SDSU

Kristen Wong | Mar 19, 2025

Seth Trimble #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a play against the San Diego State Aztecs during the First Four round of the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at University of Dayton Arena on March 18, 2025 in Dayton, Ohio. / Photo by Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

The North Carolina men's basketball team made a statement Tuesday night in their 95-68 win over San Diego State to prove they did, in fact, belong in the tournament field.

The Tar Heels easily cruised past the Aztecs after gaining an early lead, sinking an NCAA tournament-record 14 three-pointers in the blowout victory while athletic director Bubba Cunningham watched from the stands.

Not everyone was sold on the Tar Heels' First Four performance, including CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein who said there was a better chance of him running a marathon than UNC beating their next opponent, No. 6 Ole Miss, on Friday.

Rothstein was among the college hoops analysts who ripped the NCAA tournament selection committee—his exact words were "a miscarriage of justice"—for including UNC at the expense of teams with better resumes like Indiana and West Virginia.

In the face of all the chatter surrounding North Carolina's controversial final bid, UNC star guard Seth Trimble had a matter-of-fact response following Tuesday's win.

"We know we deserved to be here," Trimble said. "We're not looking to send a message to anybody else. We're just looking to compete as a team and be the team that we know we're capable of being."

Trimble dropped 16 points while senior guard RJ Davis went 6-for-6 on three-pointers to help the Tar Heels march into the first round of the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the South Region.

UNC players were rightfully fired-up in a postgame interview with none other than Rothstein himself, with the whole squad pulling up alongside coach Hubert Davis to celebrate their decisive win.

"We know we're not going to go far if we try and play for just our number and our name on the back," continued Trimble. "You've got to play for the name on the front of the jersey and just play for each other, and we'll see how far it goes."

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